Iran’s Vice-President Javad Zarif resigns amid political uncertainty

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s vice-president for strategic affairs and the chief architect of the 2015 nuclear deal, has resigned from his post. 

The move comes just days after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reiterated his opposition to talks with the United States, Caliber.Az reports via Iranian media.

According to Iran’s official news agency IRNA, President Masoud Pezeshkian has received Zarif’s resignation letter but has yet to respond. The resignation follows the ousting of the administration’s finance minister by Parliament in a vote of no confidence, though conflicting reports suggest Zarif’s decision was unrelated to the parliamentary move.

“In his letter to the president, Zarif said that he prefers to serve Iran by teaching at a university,” the semi-official ISNA news agency reported.

Zarif’s return to government under Pezeshkian had fueled speculation that he would play a key role in reviving nuclear negotiations with world powers, following the collapse of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) after the Trump administration withdrew from the agreement in 2018. However, Supreme Leader Khamenei rejected the idea of new talks with the United States last month, describing them as “neither wise, nor intelligent, nor honorable.”

During a parliamentary session on Sunday, President Pezeshkian confirmed that while he initially supported negotiations with Washington, he ultimately deferred to Khamenei’s position.

"I believed it was better to engage in dialogue, but when the Leader said we would not negotiate with the US, I said, ‘We will not negotiate with the US, period,’” Pezeshkian stated.

Zarif has a history of resignations, having submitted multiple ones during his tenure as foreign minister under former President Hassan Rouhani. Most recently, he resigned as Pezeshkian's aide in August 2024, only to return weeks later as vice-president for strategic affairs.

His latest resignation follows increasing pressure from Iran’s hardliners, particularly over his son’s reported US citizenship. In November, Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf joined calls for Zarif’s removal, arguing that his appointment was illegal under a 2020 law barring officials with dual-national family ties from holding sensitive government positions.

The ultra-hardline Paydari (Steadfastness) Party faction has been instrumental in upholding this restriction and opposing any amendments that would allow Zarif to remain in office.

While the president has yet to confirm whether he will accept Zarif’s resignation, the move signals deepening divisions within Iran’s political establishment over the country’s foreign policy direction and relations with the West.

By Vugar Khalilov